Revving Up Awareness: The Vicious Cycle Debuts New Initiative at Bed Races
Students involved with the vicious cycle spread information during the bed races to gain more awareness on the initiative.
Contact:
Name: Aiden Young
Phone: ###-###-####
Email: Aty14@scarletmail.rutgers.edu
NEW BRUNSWICK, Nj., October 17, 2024 – On this evening, Students involved with the ongoing campaign for the vicious cycle took on the bed races to promote the initiative. Students dispersed about the area of the event with posters detailing important information about the vicious cycle.
Microphones were also provided so those could hold interviews during the bed races to have personalized conversations about the topics the vicious cycle aims to highlight. Interviews as well as spreading general awareness by walking around with the posters occurred between 7pm to 9pm, right before the beginning of the race itself. The vicious cycle itself was also present at the event, stationed nearby the race itself for passersby to grab a coffee.
The Bed Races, hosted by RUPA, is an annual Rutgers tradition that occurs on the college avenue campus of the university. Organizations as well as Greek life around campus donate to gain a spot in the race. Those entered in the race are provided with a hospital bed to decorate with a theme. These beds are then raced down a street against each other with winners able to take home both bragging rights and trophies.
Interviews conducted by the students were about a minute long each. Within the minute, those involved with the initiative would discuss with the individual about a specific aspect of the various parts of the mission the vicious cycle spreads. Some students spoke about stigma related to recovery and how it can negatively impact the journey. Others decided to speak about CAPS and its involvement with recovery-based resources on campus.
Throughout the event, students got to interview various crowds around the general area. Some teams focused more on students passing through near the bus stops. Others chose to journey into the crowds of the bed races to interview those partictpaing in the event.
“It’s really great what these students are doing out here. It’s exciting to see a new and innovative initiative on campus that is interactive in a way that connects with students” says Abbrielle Kressely, an undergraduate student at the University. “I hope to see this cart out on campus more often. It’s such a great way to connect with the student body and I feel like it can become an established part of the campus easily.”
“I think the coffee cart is a good hook to get students more interested in the topic at hand. If I see a cart on campus giving out free coffee, of course I’m going to go up- you know what I mean?” says Courtney Curabba, another undergraduate living on campus. “I think you guys are doing a lot of good here. Especially in de-stigmatizing the stigma around recovery for individuals of typical college age.”
The general reaction of the campaign during the bed races was extremely positive. Students not involved in the campaign were excited to interact with the posters and interviews. Even the school mascot, Sir Henry, became involved in the campaign by holding one of the posters for a photo op (pictured above).
About The Vicious Cycle:
The Vicious Cycle is a coffee cart with a mission to spread information about recovery-based resources on campus. topics the cart aims to tackle include stigma around recovery, Information about CAPS and recovery house, as well as Narcan use and distribution. The concept of this cart is to provide students a space to get free coffee while learning about these topics. This initiative was started to help college student be more informed on these topics.
